Inferno
by AlterationLover
Summary: This turned out shorter than I had planned, but I think it's suitable. Danger Days : How it all started. My Chemical Romance. T for language.
1. PREFACE

**** Hai guys :3 well, this is my new fanfic :D I have had the urge ever since I finished Blood and Roses to write another Killjoy fic, because I found that I really enjoyed the futuristic feel of it all ;) But I didn't have any ideas D: BUT THEN ! It came to me ;) And so, Inferno was born :3 I always had theories about the START of BL/ind/Killjoys etc, so I thought it would be interesting to write a fic on it xD Bah, but I'm rambling, and keeping you from reading xD So, please, enjoy the Preface of Inferno ! :D**

**XOXO**

**Alt ;)**

**P.S. OH ! and if you're worried, NO, I am NOT putting any of the other fics on pause :) They're all still going xD ****

**Disclaimer : I don't own MCR, any of the members of MCR, or any of the Fabulous Killjoys. These characters are not based on real people. I only own the OC's and the plot.**

_California, 19:54, December 20th, 2012_

Dark rain-clouds roamed the dark barren evening sky that hovered over California. They twisted and curled, and everyone knew that a storm was brewing, all of them waiting in hidden anticipation for the first signs of the downpour. It hadn't rained in a long time, and everyone was waiting fervently at their windows, their fingers playing with the blinds or curtains, checking every so often for even the slightest speck of rain.

Gerard Way was no exception. He stared out of the window, looking up into the looming clouds, waiting for the rainfall. Lightning crackled up in the billowing atmosphere, and there was the occasional boom of thunder in the distance.

He was trying to write a song, but the lyrics would not form in his brain. They were there, somewhere in the back of his mind, just waiting to be brought forth.

"Gee, honey, come eat something!" Lindsay, Gerard's wife, called from down the hall. When he turned his head, he saw that she was standing in the doorway to the den, with her hands on her hips, but a soft smile on her face.

"Song not coming to you?" she asked, walking over and sitting down next to him on the window seat. He nodded, and she rested her head on his shoulder, looking out into the night sky. He could smell her hair, that vanilla aroma that was so beautiful. There was a silent flash of lightning that illuminated Lindsay's face, casting a white light over her stunning features.

"The lyrics just won't come to me," Gerard said, biting his lip slightly, "I think I'm probably just going to stay here for a while, try and let my mind wander,"

"Are you just saying that to get out of eating?" Lindsay laughed, a sound like bells chiming in the wind. Gerard smiled.

"No, I just don't feel like eating,"

"You say that as though it's a big chore,"

"Trust me, honey, with your cooking, it is," Lindsay flashed him a warning look, and Gerard quickly smiled jokingly, although his eyes were wide. Lindsay rolled here eyes, but there was a smile on her face. Turning around, she exited the den, and Gerard was once left to his thoughts.

But just as the lyrics were starting to form once again, they were thrown out of Gerard's mind, his three year old daughter, Bandit, came bounding along, her chubby little feet striking the floor in a rhythmic motion. Despite the fact that the lyrics had vanished from his brain, Gerard grinned widely.

"Hello, sweetheart!" he said happily, scooping his giggling daughter up into his arms. Then, after a moment of giggling, her face changed, and she stuck her tongue out, her little eyes squinting.

"Did mommy make you eat her 'special meatloaf' again?" Bandit nodded fervently, a disgusted look still on her face. Gerard laughed, hugging his little girl tight.

Up in the atmosphere, lightning sparked and then flashed through the night, like a blinding, jagged scar. Bandit whimpered slightly, and Gerard closed his arms around her even tighter.

"There's nothing to be worried about, B," he whispered into the fluff of black hair, "I'll keep you safe tonight,"

* * *

><p><em>Underground California, 18:02, December 20th, 2012<em>

"Everything is prepared," two men wearing all white and vampire masks marched along the long, pristine white underground corridor, escorting another, slightly taller man, who wore all grey and whose bald head reflected the florescent lights slightly.

"The hovercrafts?" the bald man asked, his voice showing a slight accent. The masked man on the right nodded, his eyes hidden behind the disguise.

Their feet clicked slightly on the tiled floor as they strode down the narrow hallway. Everything was silent, except for their footsteps.

Rounding a corner, the masked and bald man entered a large, oblong hall. Thousands upon thousands of identical masked men stood staring to the far side of the room, where a figure sat on a slightly raised podium, shrouded in darkness. All that was visible was its lower legs and feet, which wore formal black heels.

The two masked men left the bald man's side, retreating to stand by the rest of the masked people.

The bald man continued walking, approaching the podium and the shrouded figure. Upon reaching the podium, he knelt, his knees resting on the first tiled step, his head bowed in respect. After a moment, he rose to his feet to gaze into the darkness.

"All is ready," he spoke into the shadows, his voice steady and sure.

"Excellent," the figure in the shadows voice was altered so the masked men would not know who was speaking. But the bald man knew, of course he did.

"Well done, Korse," the figure continued, addressing the bald man –Korse- before speaking in a louder, clearer and slightly more aggressive voice.

"The time is now! A new empire is about to begin! A purer, _better_ empire. You, gentlemen," there was a slight shift in the darkness, like the figure was slicing a hand through the air, "are loyal to myself, and to Better Living Industries, and therefore, you shall be spared. You are guaranteed a future. Tomorrow, December 21st, you shall bring back any survivors in the hovercrafts and begin treatment immediately. It is essential that you bring back _everyone_. That is your only task for now. Do not fail me,"

A hushed silence fell over the hall, and no one moved. And then, the figures voice cut through the silence like a knife, clear and distorted.

"Better Living Industries is now!" it called, its voice echoing through the chamber. Then, there was a loud click, like the pressing of a button, and the world above exploded in a ball of radioactive fire.


	2. ONE

Flashes. Colours then blackness. Distorted shadows of darkness, and then nothing. Gerard slowly opened his eyes, and he could imagine the tearing of skin as his eyelashes parted. He had to blink a couple of times before the world came into a swimming focus. Not that there was much to look at.

From what he could comprehend, he was in a white pod, with his hands locked at his side with metal shackles. Lifting his head slightly, he saw that his ankles were bound as well.

Just as he was beginning to get nervous, thrashing about uselessly in the manacles that held him down, a screen flickered to life just about his head on the underside of the pod. On it showed a smiling face with words underneath it that read; "BETTER LIVING INDUSTRIES. THE AFTERMATH IS SECONDARY,"

Gerard stared at it curiously for a moment, before the image faded, replaced by a pretty Asian woman with straight black hair down to her shoulders and perfect teeth, who was grinning down at him.

"Welcome to Better Living Industries!" she said cheerfully, and Gerard could hear her voice from all around, as though her voice was being projected through surround sound.

"You are one of the survivors of the Inferno, a horrific disaster that happened in 2012. You were saved by a Draculoid and taken here, to Battery City.

"Unfortunately, the radioactivity from the Inferno may have caused severe changes to yourself. In order to keep you alive, we gave you a large dose of Deep Sleep, the sleep medication that has kept you unconscious for the past seven years. While you were asleep, we treated you as best we could, but some things that the radioactivity altered in your DNA may never return to their previous state. Another side effect of the radioactive treatment is the Haze. The radioactive serum has wiped out your memory. You will, unfortunately, never gain it back.

"For the first couple of days, your mind may be hazy, and you may remember things that have had a sufficient place in your past, but it is impossible that you will remember everything. The only way to treat the hazy thoughts is to take the Pill. You will be presented with a single bottle every month, which will be delivered to your homestead without fail. You must take one Pill every morning to terminate the foggy thoughts. Failure to do so will result in extreme chastisement.

"We understand that this is a lot to take in, but we assure you, your future is bright and right ahead of you! Have a _better_ day!"

The screen flickered off, and Gerard could do nothing but stare up at the spot where the woman's face was only moments ago. He wished what the mysterious woman had said wasn't true, but he knew it was. He couldn't remember _anything_. No faces popped up in his mind, no familiar places, _nothing_. The only thing he could remember was his name.

He tried to reach to the back of his mind, hoping to scoop up at least _one_ memory, but his mind was like a strainer. As soon as he thought he had caught something, it slipped away.

Then, there was a loud hissing sound, and Gerard looked up to see the lid of the pod rise, so now he could see the ceiling, and hanging florescent lights that shone, making his eyes sting slightly.

The metal manacles around his wrists and ankles retreated back into the bottom of the pod, and slowly, Gerard pushed himself up into a sitting position. From there, he could see row upon row of identical pods opening up, revealing dazed and disoriented people, much like himself, sitting up and gazing around.

In the pod directly beside him, Gerard saw a man with a mop of black hair that hung to his shoulders sit up, gazing around. Gerard thought that he looked slightly familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. But then the man turned around, and Gerard saw his eyes, and it was like his strainer of a mind had caught a rock, or even better, a diamond.

"Frank!" he called without even thinking how he knew the name. The man instantly flung his head around to look at Gerard, and he watched as the mans eyes grew wide with recognition.

"Gerard?" the man –no, _Frank_- said, and then they were both scrambling out of each other's arms, and embracing. Gerard didn't know how he knew this man, or from where, but he knew this man was his best friend.

Frank, who was at least five inches smaller than Gerard, and he could see fear in Frank's eyes.

"Gee, what the fuck is happening?" he said, staring around, "I don't remember a goddam thing, well, except you…"

"I have no idea, Frankie," Gerard said, the nervousness growing in him, "I have no idea,"

Just then, they heard a shout coming from behind them. Frank and Gerard spun around to see two men, one with an afro and an eye patch, and a scrawny looking blonde.

"Shit, Frank, is that you?" the blonde called, and Gerard couldn't believe it. It was his brother. His baby brother, Mikey. And standing beside him was Ray, Ray Toro, his other best friend!

"Mikey, holy fuck!" Gerard called, hurling himself over to his younger brother. The two brothers embraced as Frank and Ray hugged, and then they all stood staring at each other.

"Holy fuck, Mikey, you've changed…" Gerard whispered, astounded. His brothers dark, slick brown hair was nowhere to be seen, instead replaced by the blonde hair that sat on his head.

"You think _I've _changed?" Mikey said incredulously, "You should take a look at yourself!"

Mikey pointed behind Gerard, and cautiously, he turned around till he was facing the metal wall. His reflection was slightly distorted, but it was enough. Gerard nearly fell over at what he saw. His black hair was gone, replaced by what looked like flames on his head.

"It …" he stuttered, "It looks like someone's dipped my head in motherfucking red food dye!"

He clutched at the neon strands, disbelieving, before turning back to the three other men.

"And Ray! Your eye…?"

"Gone," the tall afro'd man shrugged.

"Wait, what about Frankie?" Mikey said, "What'd the radioactive shit do to you? You don't look all that different, maybe a little shorter, but …"

Frank glared at the grinning Mikey, before pulling up his sleeves.

Gerard was not surprised to see tattoos lining his best friends arm, but the sheer amount stunned him. He had never had _that_ many…

"And they're everywhere too. And when I say everywhere," he coughed slightly, "I mean _everywhere_,"

"Well, at least you didn't have to feel them being pierced into your skin," Mikey said smirking, and Gerard couldn't help but smile. But then the reality fell down once more, and Gerard realized exactly what was happening.

"Guys, I don't remember anything except you," he said, "And I'm not sure about anything. I don't know," he lowered his voice, "if I trust these guys. First, there's a mysterious 'disaster' called the Inferno? Then we wake up seven years later to find out that our memory's been wiped. I just don't know…"

"I'm with Gee on this one," Frank said, "Something just doesn't add up…"

Just then, a man wearing a mask with the same smiling face Gerard had seen on the screen inside his pod walked over to the four men, carrying a white, fabric bag.

"Hello, gentlemen," he said, and his voice sounded slightly robotic, "I am here to present you with your Pills,"

He handed each man a small bottle of orange pills. On the label, it showed the odd smiling face, which Gerard assumed was the logo, and then the letters; "BL/ind,". The masked man stared at them for a moment before turning on his heels and marching away, probably to hand out other bottles of Pills to the other people who were emerging from the pods. Some were male, some were female. Some young, some old.

He realized just how many of these people would be family-less after the Inferno. And then it came to him. Did he have a family? He couldn't remember. Did he have a beautiful wife who would kiss him when he got home, or a little child who he would sing to sleep at night? The fact that he couldn't remember whether or not he had a family disgusted him slightly. What kind of a father or husband couldn't remember their wife or kids?

Suddenly, Gerard was brought back to reality by Frank's sharp hiss.

"Don't take the Pills!" he was whispering urgently to Ray, who had one orange capsule in his palm, "Something's not right here, and I don't know about you guys, but I wanna get to the bottom of it,"

"I'm with Frankie on this one," Gerard agreed, nodding, "I think there's more to BL/ind than meets the eye…"


	3. TWO

The four friends walked down the hallways of the main hall, along with all the other people that had been saved. Gerard didn't recognise anyone in the crowd, and that startled him. If he had a family, were they around him now? Or were they -dare he even think it? - beyond?

Gerard couldn't tell if the masked person that was showing them around was the same on that had given them their Pills, as all the masks were identical, as were their voices. Gerard wondered whether they were even really human beings at all, or something more machine than man.

The four friends soon found out that the main hall was basically just a series of hallways in an octagonal shape surrounding the main Area, where public meetings were held every month. The Area was a large open room, with no roof, leaving it open to the elements. What looked like grass surrounded a stone courtyard, but as Gerard and his friends journeyed closer, he thought otherwise.

The 'grass' was too green, far too bright to be natural, and it didn't smell like any plant Gerard had ever smelled before. It had a sweeter scent, almost like roses, that definitely wasn't inherent.

"The grass," Gerard whispered, turning to Mikey, "It's not real,"

"I didn't think it would be," Mikey replied, the rays of the morning sun seeming to caress his pronounced cheekbones, "It doesn't look like it's rained here in, well, forever,"

Gerard looked around and realized that his brother was right. There wasn't the faintest cloud in the sky, nor were there roofs on half of the buildings. Apparently BL/ind had a way of altering the weather to its advantage?

As Gerard took in his surroundings further, he realized that the grass was not the only thing that was artificial. The trees were also far too bright to be real, and when he placed his hand against the trunk, he found that it felt like disguised plastic, as though BL/ind were trying to give the impression that they were real, but hadn't quite mastered it.

"The Area," the tour guide said in its robotic voice, breaking Gerard from his thoughts, "Marks the centre of Battery City, a perfect, utopian capital city that will remain for the ages.

"Now, if you'll follow me, I shall transport you to your homesteads…" the masked guide turned on his heels and walked to a door that was opposite them, which, Gerard presumed, led them out of the Area.

Following the guide, Gerard walked through the sliding, metallic door, and found that it led them out onto a street that was lined with identical, white houses. They were about average size, not too big, not too small. They had a very suburban look to them.

"Before I assign you your homestead, does anyone have any questions?" the guide asked, stopping in his tracks. Immediately, a boy of about fourteen or fifteen with shockingly white and green hair raised his hand. The guide consulted his clipboard before turning to the boy.

"Macdonald?" the guide asked, addressing the boy.

"Yes," the boy answered, "I was fifteen when this thing you call the 'Inferno' hit. We were told we've been asleep for seven years, which would make me twenty-two. However, I still look like a fifteen year old. Care to explain?"

"Well," the conductor began, "A side effect of the serum that kept you alive, is that it stops the bodies growth. Your mind continues to develop, but your body will always remain as it was when the radiation changed you DNA patterns,"

The boy called Macdonald nodded, but looked a bit sceptical. Gerard turned away to look at the rows of homesteads.

"Hey, that's one good thing about that psycho serum," Frank whispered in Gerard's ear, "At least we'll be young forever,"

Gerard's lips pulled up into a faint smile, but like the boy, he remained disbelieving.

Since there were no more questions, the guide began to call names, gesturing people to certain houses. Gerard didn't pay much attention to the people who were leaving the group until one of his friends was called.

"Iero?" Frank walked slowly over to the masked guide, who gestured him over to one of the houses. He looked back, giving Gerard and the others a fleeting glance before opening the door and disappearing inside.

The crowd of people slowly began to diminish in alphabetical order until there was only Gerard, Mikey and a few other people left.

"Way?"

"Which one?" Gerard and Mikey both said at the same time, causing them both to laugh, although Gerard's was slightly half-hearted.

The guide looked down at his clipboard, searching through the long list of names.

"Gerard," it said after a moment, and slowly, Gerard walked over to the man. He turned around to see Mikey give him an assuring nod, before walking towards the house the guide had pointed to.

The front lawn was identical to all the other ones; bright green grass and a stone pathway that led to the doorway. It took Gerard a moment before he realized that the button beside the door (which had no handle) was not a doorbell, but opened the door. With a hiss, the door slid into the wall, and Gerard stepped into his new 'home'.

The walls were white, like almost everything else in Battery City, and the floors were tiled and sparkling. On the wall beside the door was what looked like a control panel, and beside that was a poster that showed a man and a woman holding hands, with the man wearing a tweed suite and tie, and the woman wearing a grey turtleneck and a checked skirt that was held up by a plain belt. It looked like an advertisement for the 'perfect family', but it was different, because both the man and the woman were wearing the smiling face BL/ind logo. Below the people was a strip of white with the words, "Better Living INDUSTRIES, the aftermath is secondary", the same slogan he'd seen in the pod. For some reason, the poster made him nervous.

Quickly, Gerard tore his eyes away from the disturbing poster to take a closer look at the control panel. Its surface was glossy like the screen of a computer monitor, and it was rimmed with a white frame that matched the walls almost exactly. Gerard reached forward and slowly traced his finger of the polished screen.

"Hello, Way, Gerard," came a voice from all around, making Gerard jump back in surprise. The control panel had lit up to show the BL/ind face as well as its slogan.

Gazing around, he searched for the source of the noise, and found little hidden speakers up on the ceiling that he had not noticed before.

"Hello, Way, Gerard," the voice said again in its robotic tone.

"Uhm, hi?" Gerard replied, slightly uncertain.

"My name is ICA, Internal Control Apparatus. I am here to make your living even _better_," It was then that Gerard looked up to see the almost unnoticeable camera that was situated in the top corner of the hallway. So that was how they kept an eye on them to make sure they were taking their medication… Things were going to be harder than Gerard thought.

"Uhm, I don't think I need your help right now," Gerard said to ICA.

"Certainly, Mr. Way. Have a _better_ day!" the voice went silent, and Gerard began to explore.

He found the living room with ease. It was just off the hallway, and had a sturdy, yet comfortable looking white couch, two identical white chairs and a coffee table. In the corner of the room was a small table, on top of which sat a telephone. Gerard made a mental note to call Frank, Mikey and Ray later.

He ventured further still into the house, finding the kitchen, which was nothing special, just a few essential white kitchen appliances and a white fridge. He continued on.

The bedroom had a large, white bed and a desk as well as a built in closet. Gerard was coming to notice that white was BL/ind's 'theme'.

Wandering back to the living room, he picked up the telephone before realizing that he had no idea what any of the others phone numbers were. Then, solving his problem, he heard ICA's robotic voice through the receivers.

"How may I assist you, Mr. Way?" it said.

"I, uh, want to call Frank Iero?" Gerard said unsurely.

"Calling, Iero, Frank," ICA said, and then Gerard heard a series of rings. Wow, things were pretty easy here.

After a moment, Gerard heard a faint clicking sound, and then Frank's loud voice filled the receiver.

"Hey, Gee," he said.

"Frank," Gerard sighed, "Wait… how did you know it was me?"

"That weird ICA thing, or whatever the hell it is told me that a certain Way, Gerard was calling," Gerard could almost see the smile on Frank's face, and even that was enough for the corners of his mouth to curl upwards slightly.

"Alright, well," Gerard said, "We need to meet up somewhere,"

"I agree," Frank said, "You call the others and I'll meet you outside in five minutes, and we'll go from there,"

Gerard nodded before remembering that his friend couldn't see him, so he quickly muttered an agreement. Then the line went dead, and Gerard hung up the phone.

He promptly called Ray and then Mikey, and they all agreed they'd meet outside.

Hanging up the phone for the third time, Gerard through the house to the door. ICA wished Gerard farewell, which he ignored. He pushed a button, and the door slid open, revealing the outside.


	4. THREE

Frank was waiting outside, just like he said he would be. Mikey and Ray followed shortly until the whole group stood outside.

"Alright, so let's go through the facts," Mikey said as the four men began to walk down the empty, immaculate street, "First off, what the hell was the 'Inferno' anyway?"

"My guess is," Ray cut in, "It was probably some sort of bomb or something, maybe sun rays? Like, the ozone just…disappeared, and we were all wiped out?"

"But then why would there be so many people dead?" Frank questioned, "I mean, I could understand if we all slowly dwindled away, but for some reason, I think that this thing was pretty quick, which makes me think it probably wasn't anything to do with the sun,"

"Alright, we'll come back to that," Gerard said, thinking, "What about the whole memory wipe?"

"It _does _seem awfully convenient…" Ray interjected, "Like, what is the likelihood of that serum wiping out memories? And how did Better Living Industries make it? Why wasn't this kind of technology produced to the world before?"

"I agree with Ray," Mikey said, "It almost sounds as though," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "It almost sounds like Better Living was _expecting_ the Inferno…"

"Guys, shut up!" Gerard said suddenly, listening intently. He could hear a low rumbling sound, and then, as though out of nowhere, a large tank-like vehicle rounded the corner onto the street. On top of its flat surface stood two masked men. One of them wore the BL/ind smiling-face mask, but the other wore what looked like an opened mouthed vampire mask with black hair on top. It was then that Gerard noticed that the vampire masked man held a black gun.

Quickly, Gerard nudged Mikey, nodding towards the tank. Mikey nodded once, his mouth set in a firm, straight line.

As it rolled closer, the noise emitting from the tank became so loud, Gerard almost had to bring his hands up to his ears to shield them.

As he looked around, Gerard noticed that other people were coming out of their homesteads, probably to see what the noise was about. Gerard could see people of all shapes and sizes, with oddly coloured hair and tattoos all over faces. Whatever the radiation was from, it changed people a lot.

Finally, the tank rolled to a stop in the middle of the road, just a few feet away from Gerard, Mikey, Frank and Ray. No one made a sound as everyone was waiting with bated breath to see what all the commotion was about.

Slowly, the BL/ind smiling-face masked man brought a megaphone up to where his lips would have been under the mask.

"There is no need to be alarmed," he said, as though he was reading everyone's minds, "We are just here to make sure you have taken your daily dose of the Pill,"

Gerard quickly turned to Frank, who was staring at him, a slightly afraid look on his face. Suddenly, the little bottle that was in his pocket seemed very, very heavy due to the fact that it had never been opened.

The masked man began to call names out in alphabetical order, ushering them forward, asking them to present their bottle of Pills.

Slowly, Gerard reached into his pocket and, feeling his hand grasp around the bottle, took it out, holding it in his palm. He uncapped the bottle and took one orange capsule between his fingers. He brought it to his lips, but didn't put it in his mouth. Instead, he feigned swallowing, and quickly dropped the Pill to the ground, shuffling it over so it lay in the artificial grass, out of sight.

His friends followed suit, until there were four Pills sitting unnoticed in the grass.

"Iero?" Frank stepped forward nervously, walking towards the masked men. He couldn't help bet glance at the large black gun and gulp.

He handed the masked man his bottle. The masked man placed it in some sort of scanner, which gleamed white as soon as the bottle touched its surface. After a moment, it gave a small beep, and the masked man took the bottle from the scanner and gave it back to Frank, who couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief as he walked back to join his friends.

One by one, they all walked up to the masked man, and one by one they were given back their bottle of Pills. That was, until, the masked man called up someone by the name of 'Zabroski'.

"Zabroski?" the masked man called, and a man of about twenty with a tattoo of a lightning bolt on his neck walked up to the tank and gave the man his bottle of Pills. The masked man put the bottle on the scanner, but instead of the usual low, short beep, a high, shrill drilling noise exited the scanner. The masked man turned to Zabroski.

"It seems you have not taken your dose of the Pill," the masked man said in his robotic voice. Zabroski nodded.

"I know that," he said, his voice not showing any emotion, "Something's up with Better Living Industries, and I'm not taking those Pills until you explain what it is,"

Gerard turned to Mikey, Frank and Ray to see they had the same looks on their faces as he did. Utter shock. This kid had some guts.

"That information is classified," the masked man said, "If you continue to refuse the Pill, you will have to be chastised. Draculoid #236?"

The man wearing the vampire mask, who Gerard presumed was the 'Draculoid' stepped forward, gun in hand, and pointed it at Zabroski.

"I refuse the Pill," Zabroski said firmly, showing no fear.

"Then we have no choice," the Draculoid stepped forward and positioned the gun so that it pointed straight towards Zabroski's heart. Still, he didn't show any emotion. The Draculoid poked and prodded him until he walked forward, towards the tank, headed for a door on the side that Gerard had not noticed before. Just before he entered the tank, Zabroski turned around to look at the crowd.

"Something's not right here," he said loudly, "And if I were you, I'd be afraid. I don't think Better Living is what you all think it is,"

Then the Draculoid thwacked him with the butt of his gun, and he fell, unconscious, to the ground before being dragged into the darkness of the tank.

Instantly, the crowd erupted into nervous whispering. Gerard just stared at the spot where Zabroski had disappeared, although he could hear his friends talking beside him.

"The kid had guts-"

"Or he's stupid…"

"-not right…"

Gerard couldn't focus on any particular word. His mind seemed to be slightly clogged, as though someone had put a stopper into it, stopping anything from registering.

"Gee?" Gerard whipped his head round to see his friends staring at him worriedly. He guessed that that wasn't the first time they'd called his name. Frank nodded up towards the tank where the masked man was speaking again.

"-what happens when you are disobedient," he was saying, "Consequences will occur. Better Living Industries is here to _help _you, not hurt you. We only want what will make you _better_,"

With that, he lowered the megaphone, and the slow rumbling began again as the tanks slowly rolled away around the corner and out of sight.

The crowd didn't feel the need to hide their whispers anymore. They all exploded in loud worried voices, the ones that could remember their friends talking frantically, and the ones who couldn't looked around, afraid.

Gerard turned to his friends and knew that they were all thinking the same thing. Better Living was not really better at all.


End file.
